Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister, made a statement on Wednesday that, “The Minimum Support Prices (MSP) has been increased for the Kharif crops for the marketing period of 2023-24 and those prices have been approved by the Union Cabinet. This step was taken to assure the profitable prices to the farmers for their commodities and encourage them to diversify the cultivation of different crops”.
Mr.Goyal said that, “The MSP for the agricultural products are being fixed from time to time on the basis of the recommendations by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). He also said that the Minimum Support Prices for Kharif crops for the current year is the highest when compared to previous year prices”.
The Union of (CCEA) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in order to boost the income of the farmers and to encourage them to cultivate crops in more areas.
The MSP of paddy was hiked by ₹143 and the actual price per quintal for paddy was approved to ₹2,183 for the year 2023-24 (July-June).
The Support price of the ‘A’ grade paddy was increased by ₹163 and the MSP is ₹2,203 per quintal.
The support prices of moong dal were increased by 10.4 per cent, which is the highest price when compared to all other Kharif crops. The MSP of moong was hiked by ₹803 and the current price is ₹8,558 per quintal for the marketing season of 2023.
The current support price for Soybean stands at ₹4,600 per quintal, the MSP of sesamum is ₹8,635 per quintal, niger seed was hiked at ₹7,734 per quintal, the minimum support price for cotton is ₹6,620 per quintal. The long staple cotton price stands at ₹7,020 per quintal.
Even with the change in the unusual patterns of surface waters in the east equatorial region of Pacific Ocean, the normal monsoon period was projected for the month June-September by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The sowing of the major Kharif crop i.e paddy usually starts when the southwest monsoon begins. But,the monsoon didn’t begin from 1st June in Kerala.
To strengthen the nation’s food security, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a budget of Rupees one lakh crore for the creation of the largest ever grain storage space in the Cooperative sector which inturn will reduce the damages of crops and prevent the sufferings of the farmers relating to the sales.
